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Three Keys To A Productive Day

Owner of Capano Consulting. Master Instructor and Coach with Ninja Selling. Lead with Service to Others.

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Most of us don't usually start our days planning to be lazy or unproductive; we have a plan for what we want to accomplish. Yet somehow as the day progresses, we get lost and lose the momentum we initially had. In my experience, one of the best ways to ensure a productive day is to have a solid morning routine.

Here are three ways to set your day up for success.

1. Start With Gratitude

Your mindset can be the key to both success and failure. There have been many studies on the power of gratitude and how it can not only positively affect how you think but also spill over into other areas of your life. Robert Emmons, who's been described as "the world's leading scientific expert on gratitude," has found in his research that those who practice gratitude experience physical, psychological and social benefits. Some of the psychological benefits include experiencing "higher levels of positive emotions" as well as feeling "more alert, alive and awake."

By beginning your day with gratitude, you can wake up fresh and open to the positivity of the day. Practicing gratitude every morning is simple — you can even do it before you get out of bed. In his May 2011 TEDxBloomington talk, best-selling author and science of happiness researcher Shawn Achor suggests starting each day by writing down three new things you're grateful for. Most people tend to focus on the big things they're grateful for, such as family and health. I recommend focusing on anything: a good cup of coffee, a funny book or a great song.

Have you ever written affirmations? I started doing this in 2009, and it has greatly impacted my energy and my success daily. An affirmation is a positive statement about who you want to become or what you want to accomplish.

Here are a couple of examples:

• I motivate and inspire others to greatness daily.

• I am limitless.

Some other examples that many of my clients use are:

• I enjoy earning $X or more per year.

• I enjoy closing X sales per month.

Writing affirmations can be a great way to create your vision for the future and draw a mental path to achieving it. When I first began writing them, I was a skeptic. How could writing something so simple create change? But I made a commitment, and even to this day, the positivity, productivity and success that follow are amazing.

Many of my clients find that the affirmations help set them up for success in meeting their daily goals. As you focus on what you write, your brain may begin to subconsciously find ways to help you achieve your goals.

3. Identify Your Big Three

Most of us have a to-do list. How long is yours? As I talk with and coach my clients, I find that many of their to-do lists are very lengthy — 15 or more tasks. That can be too much. When we have a lengthy to-do list, the brain can become overwhelmed, and its ability to process can be greatly diminished. According to research by psycho-economist Sheena Iyengar, "our brains can only handle about seven options before we’re overwhelmed. It’s easier for us to make decisions and act when there are fewer choices from which to choose." This is why when we have a long to-do list, we often end up looking at it and getting lost in the confusion of where to begin.

My suggestion is to start your day by identifying your big three: What are the three things that must get done today before your head hits the pillow? For me, it can be making those calls, running that report and writing that article. Or sometimes one of my big three is to purchase dog food. It doesn’t matter what the items are; the idea is that they are the top three things that you need to focus on. Once you have your focus, you can then make room for these items in your schedule.

When you're clear on what needs to get done and you plan for those items, not only will you be more likely to accomplish them, but you also may find that more space opens up in your day. Often what I find is that I actually finish my big three early and can then move on to my next three.

The key is this: Less can sometimes be better. Get clear on what must get done because even if you only complete those three items, that will add up to 15 high-priority tasks each workweek, and that's something to be excited about.

When it comes to achieving your daily goals, having a solid morning routine can help you succeed. Start your day by building a foundation for accomplishment with gratitude, clarity and the ability to stay focused, and productivity will likely follow.